


New Romantics

by QueenoftheDustPeople



Series: Lirrieverse [1]
Category: Little Mix (Band), One Direction (Band)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-14
Updated: 2016-01-14
Packaged: 2018-05-13 20:29:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,705
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5716048
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenoftheDustPeople/pseuds/QueenoftheDustPeople
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Liam?" she hasn't seen Liam in ages, maybe since before she and Zayn broke up. He looks good, older almost though she knows they're the same age. </p>
<p>"Do you mind if I sit down? My feet are killing me. Harry made me stand there while he discussed juicers with someone for at least fifteen minutes," Perrie giggles, motioning to the other side of the booth. </p>
<p>"That sounds absolutely horrendous." </p>
<p>Liam rolls his eyes, "It was."</p>
            </blockquote>





	New Romantics

Perrie's been sent three drinks tonight by different people. The first was a tall, skinny man with a shock of blonde in his dark hair, the second was a rotund older man, and the third was a boy that Perrie wasn't even sure was legal in the first place. Eventually, she'd retreated to a plush booth in the back corner of the bar, kicking her shoes onto the seat beside her so she could stretch out without keeping her feet crammed into her heels. She's over the after-party but she doesn't want to leave quite yet, not when the girls are still here. She chews on her straw, watching as Jade flirts with two different boys. Neither of them seems to know that they're competing for her attention but Jade's always been too good at that. Perrie's never been able to juggle people like that and, being someone that was juggled, maybe it's something beyond her abilities.

 

She sighs, flicking through her phone again. "Perrie?" a voice breaks through the music. Perrie squints up through the dark lights.

 

"Liam?" she hasn't seen Liam in ages, maybe since before she and Zayn broke up. He looks good, older almost though she knows they're the same age.

 

"Do you mind if I sit down? My feet are killing me. Harry made me stand there while he discussed juicers with someone for at least fifteen minutes," Perrie giggles, motioning to the other side of the booth.

 

"That sounds absolutely horrendous."

 

Liam rolls his eyes, "It was. How've you been? I feel like it's been absolutely ages since we've talked." He puts his beer down on a coaster, centering it on the little square of foam before looking back at her.

 

"Good! I've been good. Been so busy with the album and everything," she pushes a few loose strands of hair behind her ear.

 

"Yeah, yeah, that just came out, didn't it?" she nods. Her cheeks are heating up which is…unexpected. Maybe it's just the alcohol, "Feel like I've been hearing about it forever."

  
"Have you listened to it yet?"

 

Liam shakes his head, "Erm, not yet, sorry. But Niall's been talking my ear off about it for a few days." He laughs; the sound makes Perrie smile. "Here, hold on," he pulls his phone out of his pocket. She takes another sip of her drink. His face is lit up by the bright glow, emphasizing how thick his eyelashes are. Perrie can't remember the last time she noticed a boy's eyelashes--well, she _can_ but she doesn't want to linger in the memory. "There we go; bought it on iTunes. I'll listen to it tomorrow morning when I go for my jog," he holds his phone out to show the album in his library.

 

She grins, "You go jogging?"

 

"Well, on a treadmill. I think if I tried to go jogging on the street, it might end up as more of a chase," a slight tinge of rosy pink rises on his cheeks.

 

"And we don't want that, do we? Last thing I want to hear on the news is 'One Direction Star Mauled While Listening to Little Mix,'" she mimics the one newscaster she hears sometimes on the early morning shows. Liam laughs again, leaning back in the booth.

 

"Be quite the way to go though, yeah?"

 

"I suppose it would. How've you been lately? You guys just had the last show, right?"

 

"Not last!" Liam interjects, almost a little too hot, and Perrie jerks back. His face turns even redder, "Erm, sorry, sorry, I just--I've gotten so sick of people saying that when we don't think it's going to be the _last_ show." He scratches the back of his neck.

 

Perrie licks her lips, "No, don't apologize. I know you must be sick of hearing all that. The hiatus starts sometime next year, yeah? You'll, um, have to forgive me. I don't hear much about you guys anymore." Her throat goes dry and not even a quick sip of her drink fixes it.

 

"That makes sense," Liam says. They're both quiet for a moment, or as quiet as they can manage with the pumping club music. "'s a little odd, isn't it? Him being…gone?" he says. The music almost swallows his voice whole.

 

She swallows before nodding, "Yeah, I guess it is." She never really thought about Zayn being "gone" for the One Direction boys but something about the shadows in Liam's eyes makes her wonder if they (or maybe just Liam) felt the abandonment as much as she did. "But, you know, I'm good. The girls have helped a lot but I'm good," Perrie isn't sure why she's trying to prove that. She's not even sure that Liam cares all that much.

 

Or at least, she isn't until he reaches out across the shiny lacquered table to grab her hand, "I'm glad you're okay. I thought about you a lot when it happened and--well, you didn't deserve that, Perrie." Perrie's face might be on fire for all she knows.

 

"Thank you, Liam," he gives her a softer smile than before. She isn't expecting to feel so cold when he lets go of her hand. "I did hear that you and your girlfriend--Sophia, right?--broke up. I'm sorry to hear that," she clears her throat, reaching for her drink again. It's almost empty.

 

Liam sighs, his shoulders sagging slightly. "Yeah, it happened a few weeks ago. It was rough, you know? You think you're gonna spend the rest of your life with someone and then," he pauses, "well, you know the feeling."

 

Perrie lets out a bitter snort, "Don’t I?" She frowns down at her near empty glass.

  
"Look at me, dragging you down. What were you having? I'll buy us a round and we can talk about happier things," he stands up again, towering over the booth.

 

Perrie looks down at her cup, pursing her lips, "Honestly, a boy sent me this drink. But I'll take a margarita if they'll make one? Strawberry, on the rocks."

 

"You got it. You'll have another boy buying you a drink," he winks before walking off. Perrie covers her face with her hands, _certain_ that she must be a tomato right now. This is Liam! She's known Liam for ages and he's never really been anything more than a mutual friend, maybe even just an acquaintance. She's closer to Niall and Louis than him. But here she is, blushing like a bloody primary school student at the way he smiles. Maybe she just never noticed him before, like there was an eclipse blocking everything else out. She picks at her nail polish, scratching off tiny flecks of shimmering raspberry polish. She digs in her clutch for her lipstick and compact, checking her face. She feels like a fucking fool, trying to tart herself up like this, but when Liam comes back with two drinks everything seems worth it.

 

"Thank you, by the way. You really didn't have to do that," she says as he hands her a cup.

 

"I wanted to so don't worry about it," he sits back down and puts his elbows up on the table.

 

"You don't have to sit with me either if you'd rather talk to someone else."

  
Liam chuckles, "What, and listen to more of Harry talking about juicing? Even _Niall's_ been avoiding that." Perrie's not sure why his voice gets so teasing at the end but she doesn't ask. "Nah, I'd rather chat with you," he puts his chin in his hands and smiles.

 

"Well, I'm flattered," she leans in too, crossing her ankles under the table, "What would you like to chat about?"

 

The conversation starts from there and doesn't stop. Perrie never thought Liam would be so much _fun_ to talk to. He always came off as a little cold, reserved even, but sometimes he'll let out this almost hoot like laugh and he just looks free. Perrie's a little woozy to be honest. She could listen to him talk all night about nothing at all and be happy. She finds _herself_ talking too, more than she has to anyone other than the girls in a long time. It's just easy, like a freefall down a sunlit canyon but she's not afraid of hitting the ground. She hasn't felt like that for so long.

 

"I think the party's dying," Liam says once he's finished telling a story about their last tour. Perrie blinks, looking around the room. The music is off and the room is near empty; a tall man with blue hair is helping the skinny guy who sent her a drink out of the room while mumbling something about "I told you that was too much fucking tequila, Jack."

 

"Oh, wow, I guess it is," she checks her phone to find it's half past two, "I should be getting back to the hotel. The girls are probably wondering what I've gotten up to." She stuffs her phone into her clutch and reaches down to put her shoes back on.

 

"Yeah, probably," Liam grabs his phone, turning it over in his hands, "I, erm, I don't think I have your number." His eyes are on the table so he doesn't see her blush.   
 

"Well, obviously we should change that, yeah? Here," she holds her hand out, waiting for him to give her his phone. Her thumbs shake as she adds her number to his contacts--God, he has so many numbers in here!--under the name "Pez :P" "You have to promise that you'll text me though. Don't leave me hanging," at least she sounds cocky and not like the squealing giddy girl she is inside. Liam finally looks up and his cheeks are dark red again.

 

"Of course I will," he stutters. He stands and helps her to her feet. She hopes that she isn't imagining the way his hand lingers on her side, feather-light but solid, "Get home safe, alright? Do you want me to walk you to a cab?" Perrie can only imagine the blur of paparazzi that would cause.

 

"No, no, that's fine. Thank you for tonight though. I," she bites down on her lip, "I had a lot of fun, Liam. I dare say I had a blast."

 

"Me too, Perrie. I'll talk to you soon?" he tries. She nods, flashing one more smile before leaving the club. Her grin doesn't fade for the whole ride back to the hotel even as her hands nervously turn her phone over and over again. Hopefully he'll text soon. She doesn't want to have to wait because the more she waits, the more nervous she's going to get over it all.

 

It's not until she gets to the hotel that she realizes just how tired she is. She finds herself yawning in the elevator up to the room. "Well," Jesy crows as she pushes the hotel room door open, "Look who decided to show up!"

 

"We were wondering where you were," Leigh adds, already curled up in bed with her hair a mess.

 

"Sorry, I was talking to someone and got a bit distracted," Perrie kicks her shoes off and flops out onto the second bed, "Where's Jade?"

 

"Off with _two_ boys like the lush she is," Perrie giggles at the ceiling, "Never mind her though, who were you talking to?" Jesy asks, leaning forward in her seat.

 

"A boy?" Leigh adds.

 

"Is he cute?" "Handsome?" "I bet he was a football player!" "No, Lee, rugby, I bet he was a rugby player!"

 

Perrie laughs again, "He wasn't a football player or a bloody rugby player. But," she blushes, "he is very handsome." It feels so ridiculous, calling _Liam_ handsome but there's not really another word for it. The way his hair was slicked back--not too much, just enough to be perfectly in place--and the beginnings of a beard add up to something very…dashing, to use a term straight out of her mother's romance novels.

 

"Well, what's his name then?" Jesy asks.

 

Perrie licks her lips, "His name is Liam."

  
"Ooh," Leigh coos, "Good strong name, I like it. Last name? Would we know him?"

 

"Um, yeah, it's…Payne. Liam Payne."

 

The room gets very silent. Perrie's heart starts to thud in her chest, banging against her ribcage like a drum line on speed. "Liam Payne from One Direction?" Jesy asks. Perrie just nods, closing her eyes as she waits for the barrage.

 

Instead, there's just another moment of silence before Leigh muses, "I like it. I've always liked him, to be honest. He seems like a good lad. Straight laced, you know, controlled." Perrie sits up, tugging her hair out of its messy updo.

 

"You don't think it's…weird? Or wrong? To be dating _his_ bandmate and friend? You don't think there's some sort of code I'm breaking?" if she can trust anyone to comfort her, she knows it's her girls.

 

Jesy scoffs, "I don't think it's breaking any fucking code and even if it _was,_ why should he care? He broke a pretty big code himself and more than once at that." Jesy flicks her thick hair out of her face.

 

"Yeah, exactly," Leigh adds. The concern must not be that hidden on Perrie's face for them both to be jumping in, "And really, Pez, you're an adult now and so is Liam. You can do what you want. What matters is that you like him."

 

"I do," Perrie whispers to her hands, "I guess I'd never even thought about him like that before but he's just so charming! We talked for what feels like ages but it didn't get boring or tedious at all." She digs her phone out of her clutch but nobody's texted her yet other than her mum.

 

"That's what matters though, that you can talk to someone and not feel awkward," Perrie hums, kicking her legs against the bed. She should wash her makeup off before she passes out or their stylist tomorrow will never let her hear the end of it. But she wants Liam to text first so she knows that the past few hours were actually real. She's halfway through a simple, "Thanks for the support" tweet from the band account when a text pops up on her phone.

 

_'Had a great time tonight. We should get dinner or something soon. I'll tell you what I think of the album :) Sleep well xx'_

 

It's been a long time since Perrie Louise Edwards squealed but she can't stop herself. In an instant, both Jesy and Leigh have jumped on either side of her, crowding their heads in to see her phone. "He asked you out to dinner! Get it, Pez!" Leigh says, curling her arm around Perrie's waist.

 

"I can't believe he hasn't heard the album yet," Jesy says, her heavy voice thick with false outrage, "Such a disgrace!" Perrie just hums, texting back a quick _'Had a blast with you. Definitely want to get dinner ASAP. Sweet dreams xoxo P"_

 

"Yeah but look, Jes, he signed off with _two_ xs. If that doesn't mean he's crushing, I don't know what does," Leigh retorts.

 

"True, true," Jesy hums, long and slow, "Perrie Payne does have a ring to it." Perrie snatches a heavy down pillow off the bed, whacking Jesy with it.

 

"I can't believe you're already going there!" she says, her voice overly shrill to hide the fact that there's a quiet little musing voice in her head that thinks Jesy may not be wrong.

 

///

 

Thankfully there's only one paparazzi outside the hotel when Liam gets back. The guy's so busy with his cigarette in one hand and his phone in the other than Liam manages to dart into the hotel before any pictures are taken. He heads for the elevator, tilting his head back against the wall as he exhales. Tonight was…interesting. He's not entirely sure what made him go talk to Perrie; maybe it was the way she looked almost lonely in that booth or maybe she was just the first person he saw after escaping the Styles Juicing Hour.

 

But he can't say he isn't happy it's the decision he's made. He never knew she was so fun to talk to and never really grasped the beauty of her effervescent smile and bright voice. Normally, he'd never ask a girl out that one of his mates dated (let alone was engaged to) but he couldn't _not_ get her number. That was a spark that he can't just ignore.

  
And Zayn isn't even his mate anymore anyway, so what does it matter? Perrie obviously doesn't mind since she gave him her number. He pulls his phone case out of his back pocket, flipping the back open to pull his room key out. He can hear the others inside and, upon opening the door, is immediately greeted by Louis saying, "Well, well, well, Big Payno finally showed up. Where've you been then?"

 

"I was still at the after party," Liam replies, kicking his shoes off, "Why are you all in my room?"

 

"Well, we thought you might be lost. We were building our search party," Louis teases into the tea cup he's holding. Liam rolls his eyes.

 

"You disappeared like an hour in," Niall says. Harry's in his lap, too big to fit but Niall doesn't seem to care at all.

 

"It was very rude, Liam," Harry drawls, "We were having a good conversation."

 

Liam shrugs, sitting down on the bed, "I was talking to someone." He pulls his phone out again. Would it be too much to text Perrie now? Would that seem desperate? She asked him to not keep her waiting but maybe tomorrow would be better. Of course, if he waits until tomorrow he might lose his resolve.

  
Louis raises an eyebrow, "Who were you talking to for that long?" Liam chews on his tongue.

 

"Was it a _girl?"_ Harry asks. Liam nods, unlocking his phone and pulling up her number. Just the way she put her name in his phone makes his stomach flutter.

 

"Well, come on, Payno, tell us about her. Don't keep us waiting!"

 

Liam sighs, "It, um…I was talking to Perrie."

 

"Zayn's Perrie? Edwards?" Niall asks.

 

"Well, she's not Zayn's Perrie anymore, is she?" Liam retorts, hotter than he'd expected. All three of them blink.

 

"I think Liam's got himself a little crush, lads!" Louis crows, clapping his hands.

 

Liam can feel his face getting hot again, "Shut it, will you? We just had a good time, that's all."

 

Niall leans forward, craning his neck past Harry's shoulder, "Did'ya get her number though?"

 

"Erm, yeah, I did."

 

"Well, you better text her then. Don't keep her waiting, Jade told me once that Pez hates waiting on boys," Niall sits back in the chair again, tugging Harry closer by the hips.

 

"You think I should? You don’t think that's a little too…forward?"

 

"What are you, someone's gran?" Liam throws a sock at Louis' head, "'Sides, you're already acting desperate so you might as well just get it over with."

 

"I'm not acting _desperate,"_ Liam protests.

 

"You are a bit," Niall chirps, "but in a good way! It's nice to see you so interested in someone, Payno." He rubs Harry's thigh but Harry doesn't even look up from his cellphone.

 

Liam hums, opening up a message to Perrie, "What do I even say though?" He hasn't been this unsure since he was a teenager but he doesn't want to mess this up.

 

"Do you want to date a second member of One Direction?" Louis asks, his tone acidic, "One that won't dick you about as much?" Liam throws his other sock before falling back onto the bed.

 

His heart's still fluttering when he thinks of her smile or the way her cheeks would shift from lightly pink to a darker, almost red color when she was really embarrassed. And then there was the way his whole arm felt electrocuted when he helped her stand up; he'd been so reluctant to let go instead of pull her in closer. This is falling hard, he can already tell that, and it's odd that it's not so terrifying. But maybe part of that comes from the fact that for once, he doesn't have to worry why someone is interested in him. Perrie's in the same boat; she knows what it's like that know camera flashes more than the inside of your eyelids. He doesn't have to pretend around her quite as much.

 

"Just be yourself, Liam," Harry says out of nowhere, his crackling voice breaking the silence, "You always forget that you're likable as is. Perrie's a smart girl. She'll know what you mean." Liam feels his face getting hot so he keeps his eyes on the ceiling.

 

"What Hazza said," Niall agrees.

 

"Well, if you want to go _that_ route then I suppose that that's not a bad way to do it," Liam can hear Louis taking a sip of tea. He sighs, pulling his phone up again and trying to just go with it, _'Had a great time tonight. We should get dinner or something soon. I'll tell you what I think of the album :) Sleep well xx'_

 

He pauses before hitting send, "Is two xs at the end too much?"

 

"I think it's fine. Pez seems like the type of girl to want a bit of romance anyway, yeah?" Niall says. Liam hums, pushing send. Then the wait for the reply comes in, counted by his heart thumping in his chest. He drums his fingers on the back of his phone, waiting for the message.

 

Finally it comes, thankfully quicker than he'd feared, _'Had a blast with you. Definitely want to get dinner ASAP. Sweet dreams xoxo P"_ Liam can't help but grin.

 

"She respond already?" Louis asks. Liam nods, "Well, I'd say that's a good sign, isn't it? You and Perrie, who would've ever thought?" Liam just shrugs. He'd never really thought about it before, obviously not when she was with Zayn. Even towards the end, when Zayn's behavior was making him concerned, he didn't think of actually being with Perrie _himself._ But now?

 

Now he's thinking about it.

**Author's Note:**

> The first chapter/scene from the magical world of Lirrie. Dropped that subtle All Time Low cameo in there to satisfy my needs.


End file.
